Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Eagles into SFL semi-final

SFL Season 2015Finals Week 1 reviewed by Ben HarrisonQualifying Final: New Norfolk 14.10 (94) d Lindisfarne 8.11 (59) at Boyer
Lindisfarne set off to Boyer with the intent of playing fast-paced football against the reigning premier and by half time in the game on Saturday it appeared they were up for the challenge, taking the lead into the long break as New Norfolk struggled to combat the Two Blues' game plan.

The third quarter remained very tight and was almost goal for goal and set up a thrilling final quarter. However, it was all New Norfolk from late in the third quarter as they finished the game with seven goals in a row and proved that no matter who the Eagles take on their opposition can’t afford to let up before the final siren.

New Norfolk coach Caden Wilson spoke to the media after the game and said: “We knew that Lindisfarne was going to come out strongly. But we knew if we played four quality quarters we could overrun them.” On the other hand Lindisfarne coach Daniel Willing suggested it was experience that told in the end: “They had a lot more players who had been in that situation than us,” he said.

Jordan Banks-Smith kicked a game-high four goals for New Norfolk while Ben Lovell finished with three goals for the Eagles. The Two Blues' only multiple goalscorer was Troy Cunliffe who finished with three and was without question Lindisfarne’s best player. In a big final it was no surprise that best on ground for New Norfolk was Nathan Ross and he received great support from Mark Horne.

In the reserves New Norfolk defeated Brighton by 19 points

Elimination Final: Huonville 14.12 (96) d Brighton 10.8 (68) at Huonville
As expected Huonville held strong in their clash with Brighton to keep stay in the hunt in the SFL 2015 finals series with a 28 point victory over Brighton. However the Lions did not have everything their own way all day as Brighton raced out of the blocks and led by 19 points at quarter time and still held sway by 11 poins at the long break.

Huonville coach Tim Lamprill found the right words to re-energise his men at half time as the Lions produced a blistering premiership quarter to kick 8.6 and at the same time hold Brighton scoreless and just about put the game beyond doubt in a dominant performance to show that when Huonville are on song they can definitely match it with the best teams in the competition.

Tim Lamprill was the leading goalkicker for the Lions with four goals and Brad Sullivan and Michael Paul both chipped in with three goals each. Wade Burgess finished with three for the Robins whilst Ryan Bailey kicked two goals. Dale Thorp and Cameron Johns both had great games for the Lions whilst Trent Millhouse and Adam Collis tried really hard to keep Brighton in the game all day.

In the reserves Huonville defeated Lindisfarne by 40 points and made it three wins for the day with
victory over Sorell in the Colts by 26 points.